“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” –Maya Angelou

Beautiful words aren’t they?

This is one of the reasons why I love to cook and eat. The reason I love animals and being around them. The reason I like to spread around humanity, courtesy, open mindedness, warmth and genuinity. The reason I detest judgement and hypocrisy. It’s all about the feelings I give and recieve.

Cooking according to me spreads the love. The idea of feeding other human beings is something inexpressable. It’s a basic need everyone has and everyone loves. Rich or Poor you will never turn good food down! It’s creates satisfaction, happiness and fulfillment in me.

We try and do whatever is possible to make a fellow human being feel good, even if it’s for only a second or inconequential in the big picture. It makes their day. I’m sure it has happened to you. It could be just keeping the elevator door open for someone who’s running to get it, or just help someone get on or off a bus, helping someone cross the road or giving someone a quarter for parking! I know that when I am running to get into a train and someone holds the door open for me for that extra second in time for me to get in, it makes my day. I might not remember the person, but I remember the act for a very long time. As much as it made my day, I am sure it made theirs too.

It’s that simple. Immense happniess sometimes lie in these small often disregarded everyday actions. The feeling involved (good or bad) in the experience is something inexpressable and imcomprehendable unless you are in it.

In the Maya Angelou saying, there is one thing I don’t quite agree with or rather it’s never worked for me. I don’t believe that I forget what people said or did to me, irrespective of whether it’s good or bad.

Along with the feeling, I remember the action or the words that caused the feeling. Incase it’s a good feeling, it doesn’t seem like a bad deal to remember forever the nice words that made you feel good or the nice actions that made you happy. But incase it’s a bitter or hurtful feeling, I still always seem to remember the sucky feeling along with the words and/or actions.

I might’ve forgiven them for acting a certain way or saying certain hurtful things, but I don’t think I ever forget. Forgiving helps me move on, but forgetting seems almost impossible.

Is this the case for everyone? Can you really forgive and forget or do you just forgive?